The present invention relates, in general, to the diagnosis of menorrhagia, menstrual cycle disorders and their causes, and more particularly to a device, method and system for diagnosis of menorrhagia, menstrual cycle disorders and their causes.
In most women menses occurs every 21 to 35 days, has a duration of 4 to 6 days and a volume of 30 to 80 ml. Excessive uterine bleeding (menorrhagia) is a common and distressing symptom. Its effect on the patient herself and her surroundings is great. Menorrhagia affects 15% to 20% of otherwise healthy women and can be indicative of cancer, endocrinological disorders or gynecological diseases.
Menorrhagia is technically defined as menses lasting longer than 7 days or a blood loss volume in excess of 60 to 80 ml. With volumes greater than 80 ml, the risk of sever anemia becomes rather high. In theory, menorrhagia can be precisely defined by the duration and volume of uterine bleeding; in fact, a woman's report of excessive bleeding, whether she describes it as "large amounts", "clotting, "flooding", or "heavy use of tampons", has little correlation with the actual amount of blood lost. Fewer than half of women who complained of excessive bleeding actually had menstrual blood loss of more than 80 ml per menstrual period [Treatment decisions in the management of Menorrhagia, Jo Ann Rosenfeld, Medscape Women's Health 2(1), 1997].
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have an objective tool with which a clinician could measure the length of a period and the volume of blood loss associated with menses. Such a tool will assist in the diagnosis of gynecological disorders that eventuate in changes in the length of the period and the volume of blood loss associated therewith, see Chapple A, Ling M and May C. (1998) General practitioners' perceptions of the illness behavior and health needs of South Asian women with menorrhagia. Ethn. Health. 3(1-2):81-93, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein